


Red and White

by rook_fern



Series: A Christmas to Remember [3]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Candy Canes, Christmas, a case, countdown to christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 08:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rook_fern/pseuds/rook_fern
Summary: Day 3 of my countdown to Christmas.Prompt: PeppermintThere's a murder afoot, and it looks like it's dressed in red and white.





	Red and White

**Author's Note:**

> A case because I'm trash and like writing case fics. Also, this case will help me build a story behind the prompts. All of the fics will be one shots, but they'll have this background story.

After Lucifer had filled baking gingerbread men with bits of peppermint (which made them look like murder victims after they were taken out of the oven), Chloe banned him from all things peppermint. Her ban didn’t keep peppermint from him, it seemed. The day after the gingerbread fiasco, a body was found brutally stabbed to death in an apartment. The murder weapon, which was still sticking out of the bloody corpse, was a large peppermint stick.

Lucifer’s comment of “Life imitates art” earned him a reprimanding glare from the detective. Not that it did anything to deter him. He edged around the body, eyeing the sharpened end of the stick that was protruding from the victim’s chest.

Ella sidled up beside him, mimicking his expression. “Gruesome, yeah? ‘Always knew someone would end up like this.” The petite forensic scientist made a clicking sound, like she was chiding the victim.

Lucifer gave his companion a questioning glance.

“C’mon, you can’t say you’ve never thought of it. Every time you suck on a candy cane, the point always come out wickedly sharp. You slip with that thing in your hand, and  _ whoops! _ there goes your eye! Impaled on a piece of candy.”

Ella’s exaggerated explanation flew over Lucifer’s head.

“Right…” The devil’s curious stare didn’t waver as he looked over at the detective.

“Lucifer’s never celebrated Christmas. And I hardly think this was an accident.” Chloe explained to Ella.

Lucifer did his best to ignore Ella’s aghast expression. He cleared his throat and edged away from the small woman before she decided to strangle him with more Christmas cheer. “So, Killer Santa Claus on the loose? The jolly chap finally lose his marbles?”

His quip made Chloe roll her eyes, per usual. He grinned and turned his attention back to the body where Ella was inspecting the murder weapon.

She gave an “Aha!” and plucked something from the sticky mess. “A hair! It’s white. Maybe Santa Claus is the murderer.”

“Or,” The detective offered, “our killer just has white hair. Old age hasn’t stopped murderers in the past.”

“No, no, think about it,” Ella insisted, placing the hair inside an evidence bag. “The killer dresses up like Santa Claus, sneaks into the vic’s apartment, goes all stabby stab on him, and sneaks back out. There’s tons of Santas roaming the streets right now; it’s the perfect disguise!”

Chloe gave Ella a hard look, like she was trying to figure out if the forensic scientist was serious or not. “Alright,  _ maybe.  _ It’s stretching things a bit. Can you pull anything else from the murder weapon?”

“Yeah, it looks like there’s a couple of fingerprints pressed into the surface. They’re either the vic’s or the killer’s.”

“Got an ID on the victim.” Lucifer cast a glance at Dan who had appeared at his left elbow. The man tapped a notepad against his palm; his gaze drifted from Lucifer’s to Chloe’s. “Patrick Mulder. Landlord said he started renting the place about a year ago. He didn’t talk to his neighbors much, and he never mentioned to them where he worked. The guy lived a pretty quiet life.”

“So why did Old Saint Nick have a grudge on the fellow?” Lucifer mused, giving the corpse a last look before the coroners wrapped it up in a bodybag.

“What?” Dan gave Lucifer a bewildered stare.

“I’ll explain it on the way to the station…” Chloe sighed.

* * *

While they waited for Ella to work her magic and give them some evidence to go on, Lucifer ate pudding and watched Chloe do paperwork. (He tried to thank Dan for the personal pudding, but neither really knew what to say to each other, and the awkward confrontation ended when Dan nearly tripped over his desk.)

Lucifer had finished his snack and was launching tiny paper balls at passersby by the time Ella emerged from her lab. As she approached Chloe’s desk, Lucifer managed to ping her in the middle of the forehead with his spoon catapult.

“You got something?” Chloe lifted her attention from her paperwork with a grateful expression.

“Yes and no. The fingerprints were definitely the killer’s, but they don’t match any of the ones in our system. Our murderer’s got no priors. Also, the hair isn’t real. Looks like polyester or nylon or something.”

“So your theory about the killer Claus might be right.”

“More than might be. I did one last sweep of the apartment before I left and found a crumpled receipt wedged under the doormat. The fingerprints I lifted off of it match the ones that were on the murder weapon.  _ And,  _ the receipt is for a Santa costume from a Walmart not too far from the crime scene.”

“Well done, Miss Lopez!” Lucifer stood, impatience spurring his actions. He turned towards the detective, hands clasped together. “Shall we?”

Chloe checked her watch and gave her partner an incredulous look. “It’s nearly 9 pm, Lucifer.”

“Really?” Lucifer frowned, checking the time for himself. “Oh. Well, tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow,” Chloe promised with an endearing smile.


End file.
